ALBUM REVIEW: Crypt Of Ice – Frozen Soul

Of all the current genre scenes and movements in heavy music, one of our absolute favourites here at Distorted Sound Magazine is the old school death metal revival. The latter half of the 2010s saw legions of new bands explode onto the death metal scene, bringing a level of raw brutality and stank-face inducing riff mastery that hadn’t been seen since the genre’s initial formation in the early 90s. Texan bruisers FROZEN SOUL are the latest outfit to grab the scene by the throat, releasing their debut demo at the end of 2019 to underground acclaim – but does their debut full length, Crypt Of Ice, stand up to the hype? 

Clocking in at a lean ten tracks and under 40 minutes run time, there’s no fat to be found across Crypt Of Ice; everything here serves a purpose. Often when a band rerecords demo or EP tracks for a full-length it can feel lazy, intended to pad out a release rather than adding anything of substance, but that isn’t the case here. Each of the three originals from the fabled Encased In Ice demo – Hand of Vengeance, Merciless and its crushing title track – has a well-earned place in FROZEN SOUL‘s debut, strengthening the impact of the album rather than detracting from it.

Hand of Vengeance‘s brief but haunting intro heralds the absolute rage-fest to come, while Merciless offers a mid-paced stomp-a-thon that is guaranteed to get necks a’swinging. It’s demo title track Encased in Ice that really steals the show from the rerecorded material – and indeed stands as a highlight moment from Crypt Of Ice as a whole with its memorability and utter sonic brutality – be it the faster-paced riffing evisceration or the low-and-slow crushing rhythms.

Don’t be mistaken, though, Crypt Of Ice is far from a glorified demo re-recording. Although these previously released make up about a third of the record, there’s still plenty of new material to get stuck into. The opening battery of Crypt Of Ice‘s title track and Arctic Stranglehold is something to behold, a Tom G. Warrior-ish grunt opening proceedings before Crypt Of Ice moves into hook-heavy riffing and a vitriolic vocal display from Chad Green while Arctic Stranglehold proves to be not only a song title but also a descriptor from what much of this album will subject the listener to. A bruising, mid-paced bludgeoning, this double tap opening to the record takes to prisoners. Elsewhere, video single Wraith of Death brings a healthy dose of ethereal charm to the otherwise brutalising display, topped up with earworm riffing and vocal delivery for good measure.

Side B of Crypt of Ice feels like a bit of a sprint to the finish, proving to be the only real draw-back to the record. Where the opening half of the album allowed plenty of room for each track to make its mark, the final four tracks seem to just disappear in the blink of an eye. However, this breakneck run is still rammed with brilliance, be it the grinding hammerfall of Beat To Dust, the chugging ferocity of Twist the Knife or the back-to-the-wall aggression of Faceless Enemy. In this final run, though, its closing track Gravedigger that really steals the show. Mid-paced, crushing and atmospherically oppressive, Gravedigger offers a few subtle flourishes to stand out while drowning the final moments of Crypt Of Ice in a glacial murk, ending with little fanfare and staying true to the number one rule of entertainment media: always leave them wanting more.

Heavy on memorability, heavy on brutality, heavy on creativity and just really god-damn heavy in every sense of the word, Crypt Of Ice is a monolithic record. FROZEN SOUL immediately take their place alongside the likes of GATECREEPER, TOMB MOLD and BLOOD INCANTATION at the top of the old-school death metal revival with Crypt Of Ice, this is the bar the rest of 2021’s releases will be measured by.

Rating: 9/10

Crypt of Ice is set for release January 8th via Century Media Records. 

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